To provide for an additional temporary extension of programs under the Small Business Act and the Small Business Investment Act of 1958, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1541) to provide for an additional temporary extension of programs under the Small Business Act and the Small Business Investment Act of 1958, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I might consume.

As our Nation responds to the current economic downturn, small businesses will be central to our recovery. They are the engine of our economy, producing 60 to 80 percent of new jobs, and their role is even more important during recessions.

The fact is, when the job market is tight, many Americans venture out, launch their own enterprises. Following the recession of the early 1990s, small firms generated 3.8 million new positions for American workers, a number that surpassed big business expansion by almost half a million.

That kind of resilience, in the face of economic uncertainty, is a testament to the strength of our Nation. Times may be tough, but the American entrepreneurial spirit is tougher. Today, the House is considering legislation that will extend programs at the Small Business Administration into July.

These programs play a pivotal role in our economy. The SBA guarantees loans that allow new ventures to start and existing firms to grow. It provides counseling and technical know-how to entrepreneurs, and it helps ensure that small firms can obtain their fair share of Federal contracts, something that will be more important as the Economic Recovery Act generates $111 billion worth of new public works projects.

Extending these programs is important, but we must not lose sight of a larger goal. Later this Congress we will pass legislation to modernize the SBA and change the agency's culture. In these difficult economic times, we will need an SBA that can respond effectively. This will require extensive reforms.

Already in this Congress we passed the most significant update to the agency in a decade. With the economic recovery legislation, we made SBA bank loans more affordable for entrepreneurs. We increased the amount of a loan that the SBA can back, further opening up affordable credit for small business owners.

We established a new Small Business Stabilization Financing Program at the SBA, which will provide short-term loans to businesses struggling to meet their existing obligations. We gave the SBA tools it needs to begin unfreezing the secondary market for small business loans.

By reforming and updating the Small Business Investment Company program, we help channel new venture capital to small firms.

Taken together, all of these initiatives will yield $21 billion in new investment and lending for small businesses and save or create 600,000 new jobs.

Earlier this week, President Obama moved to implement many of these changes. I applaud the administration for working quickly. However, this is just the start.

Later this year, the committee will draft a comprehensive rewrite of the SBA. If there has ever been a time for a strong, effective SBA, that time is now. It will be the responsibility of every Member in this House to make sure that we reauthorize these programs properly so the SBA can help Main Street businesses weather this recession and contribute to our economy.

The extension we are voting on today will give us the time to hear from all our colleagues and interested parties as we develop this legislation. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes.''

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I ask for a ``yes'' vote.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you, Mr. Speaker. As President Obama said recently, ``small businesses are the heart of the American

economy.'' They are responsible for half of all private-sector jobs, and they've created about 70 percent of all new jobs in the past 10 years.

We need to build our economy from the ground up, create stable jobs, and foster innovation that will lead to long-term growth. To do this, we need to support the small high-tech companies that grow our economy.

The Federal Government supports these innovative small businesses through the Small Business Innovative Research program and the Small Business Technology Transfer Program, which help companies commercialize Federally funded research. The programs now distribute more than $2.5 billion each year and constitute the largest tech- transfer commercialization programs that we have in the Federal Government.

However, these programs must be updated to reflect the current innovation environment. Award sizes should be increased to reflect inflation and the growth of operating costs; the issue of venture capital participation needs to be resolved; flexibility must be instilled between phase one and phase two grants; and data collection needs to be improved so that we can better target the program and determine its effectiveness.

Last year, the House overwhelmingly passed H.R. 5819, which made these necessary changes based on suggestions from hearings in my Technology and Innovation Subcommittee and in conjunction with our work with Chairwoman Velazquez and Ranking Member Graves. However, good legislation, once again, died in the other Chamber.

Today, we find the House needing to pass an extension to keep these programs alive. This extension is necessary because the SBA and SBIR serve important purposes. But, moving forward, if we are to continue realizing the full value of programs like SBIR, we must reauthorize them with changes that reflect the evolving innovation environment, rather than simply extending the current authorization. It must be an innovation program as well as a jobs and small business program.

At a time when credit is tight and jobs are scarce, SBIR and STTR can have a significant role in jump-starting our economy. The House and Senate need to pass legislation this year that will reauthorize these programs, innovate new products and services, support small businesses, and create well-paying jobs for decades to come.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of H.R. 1541, which was received from the House.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read three times and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, and any statements related to the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of